As conventional forms of packaging for a semiconductor device containing a photoelectric converter (for example, a solid state image sensor, photodetector, etc.) in an integrated circuit, there are such packages as the so-called plastic package, and ceramic package. There is, for example, a package shown in FIG. 13 (refer to JP-A-2002-94035). This form of package has a case 70 made of plastics or ceramic, and external leads 72 protruding from within the case 70 and extended on the exterior thereof. A single piece semiconductor chip 74 is housed inside the case 70, and a bonding wire 78 interconnects respective electrode pads 76 on top of the semiconductor chip 74 and respective internal ends of the external leads 72, disposed inside the case 70. A photoelectric converter (not shown) is formed in a photoreception region (integrated circuit) of the semiconductor chip 74, and a transparent cap 80 allowing light rays to pass therethrough is provided in a part of the case 70, positioned above the photoreception region.
With the package of such a configuration as described above, however, since the external leads 72 are protruded from the outer wall of the case 70, a proportion of an extruded portion to the package in whole becomes large. This renders it difficult to use the package described above in a device wherein a multitude of components need to be mounted in a small space, such as a mobile phone, handy camera, and so forth.
Due to recent trends toward such miniaturization of electronic equipment as described above, there has since been proposed a package called CSP (Chip Size Package) substantially identical in size to a semiconductor chip in order to enable high density mounting of semiconductor devices to be implemented when mounting the semiconductor devices. However, there exists a problem in that the package proposed cannot be put to use as it is because in the case of a semiconductor device having a photoreception region, there is a need for depositing an insulator layer, a redistribution wiring layer, and so forth, on top of the photoreception region.
With an object of overcoming such a problem, there has since been proposed, for example, a semiconductor device (CSP) wherein connecting wiring is formed so as to extend from the surface of a semiconductor chip, on which an integrated circuit containing a photoreception region is formed, to a side face or the back face thereof in JP-A-2002- 1 98463. With the semiconductor device (CSP), since the connecting wiring is formed so as to extend from the surface of the semiconductor chip to the side face or the back face thereof, the semiconductor device can be surface mounted on, for example, a mounting board, and so forth such that the surface of the semiconductor device, with a photoreception region (integrated circuit) formed thereon, faces outside so as to enable photoreception, thereby attaining ultra-compact mounting as a wafer level CSP.
Patent Document 1
JP-A-2002-94035
Patent Document 2
JP-2002-198463
However, it is to be pointed out that although the proposal described above has attained ultra-compact mounting, only an insulator layer is provided on the integrated circuit (photoreception region), although a form wherein a protection film is additionally formed on the integrated circuit is also disclosed, insufficiency in respect of durability still remains at present when taking into consideration the fact that the same is handled as one component as packaged.